Collection of the best infographics & data visualization on the Web!

Ever wondered why there are so many white vans in England? Ever wondered exactly how many there really are? Well, thank the creators of this very amusing infographic then because you are about to have your questions answered. There are a whopping 2.5 million white vans in the UK. That means that there is one white van to every 24 people–quite a lot. Now, I’m no statistics expert, but I think it’s safe to say that there is no shortage of them. Ok, so we know they can be found around every street corner of the country, but where, specifically, are they?

Well, according to the graphic, most of them are in Essex, Kent, and Lancashire. Now, given how many white vans there are and how widespread the whole phenomenon has become, you might be surprised to learn that the phrase was coined no earlier than 1997. Sarah Kennedy first uttered the words on BBC Radio 2 in that year. So, what is the average distance driven by a “white van man” over the course of a year in the UK? Like all of these type of stats, the number will likely frighten you. And that number is (drumroll please) 9,426 miles, or, if you haven’t been adequately frightened yet, equivalent to driving around the length of the country 13 and a half times.

White van drivers compose the finest parts of the English population. They are well-read (more than half are regular book worms according to the graphic) and almost never get into an accident (68% of drivers have no insurance claims).

Grading Scorecard

Design: B+

The design here is rather unique and draws you in. While it’s certainly not the most eye-popping graphic we’ve ever showcased here, it holds its own against any of the other graphics on this site.

Content: A

The content was more than solid, with an excellent mix of raw facts that surprise you (such as how many miles the average white van driver spends on the road in a year), and facts that make you chuckle up a storm (such as how many cheesy wotsits could be moved if you had 772 white vans). I lost my turkey strudel after reading that.